A review by alexchig
Der Steppenwolf, by Hermann Hesse
challenging
4.0
I decided to pick up the German copy of this, and while it was great for expanding my vocabulary, it was admittedly quite a slog to get through. I suppose I was expecting a similar level of language as in Demian, but this ended up being more complex. Nonetheless, I got through it and I have some thoughts.
Just as in Demian, I can see that Hesse has alluded to the Jungian archetypes in this work, which I enjoyed. The premise is a sort of battle between the intuitive and sensory functions. I could relate to this as I struggle with a similar issue of constantly living in my head, and having to remind myself to go out and "touch some grass" every once in a while. Harry experiences this much more deeply of course, and appears to also be generally quite mentally unwell throughout the novel. For me personally, the takeaway from this was the knowledge that while thinking deeply about yourself is useful, it is important to also remember to be present in your life and to try and see the humour in it. That may be a more optimistic message than what the author had intended, but that was what I extracted from it for myself.
Just as in Demian, I can see that Hesse has alluded to the Jungian archetypes in this work, which I enjoyed. The premise is a sort of battle between the intuitive and sensory functions. I could relate to this as I struggle with a similar issue of constantly living in my head, and having to remind myself to go out and "touch some grass" every once in a while. Harry experiences this much more deeply of course, and appears to also be generally quite mentally unwell throughout the novel. For me personally, the takeaway from this was the knowledge that while thinking deeply about yourself is useful, it is important to also remember to be present in your life and to try and see the humour in it. That may be a more optimistic message than what the author had intended, but that was what I extracted from it for myself.